Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Trading Up 4.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT)’s stock price was up 4.8% on Friday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $57.00 to $61.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Virtu Financial traded as high as $41.48 and last traded at $41.4760. Approximately 348,890 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 1,175,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.58.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $1,128,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 174,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,565,239.21. The trade was a 14.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 326,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,697,624.80. This represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Virtu Financial by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 36,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,641 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 57,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 7,477 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $592,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 304,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,148,000 after acquiring an additional 88,420 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 5.1%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.00 and a 200-day moving average of $36.21. The company has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $969.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $513.51 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 18.71%.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.